Trypsinization: The decolourized bands were dried in a vacuum dryer for 1 hr until the gel pieces were completely dry. 5 μl of 0.1 μg/μl trypsin and 25 μl of 25 mM NH4HCO3 (pH 8.0) were then added to the dried gel pieces. The tubes were sealed with parafilm and kept in a water bath at 37 ̊C, overnight. Care was taken that the gel pieces in the tubes did not dry up. If the gel pieces got dried, 25 μl of NH4HCO3 was added on top. Peptide extraction: A 1:1 mixture of ACN:5% TFA in water was added (30 μl) to overnight tryptic digests and kept for 30 min. The elutant was removed in a separate low binding tube. The extraction step was repeated once more. The elutant was then dried in a vacuum dryer (1-2 hr) and reconstituted in 5 μl of 25% ACN in 0.1% TFA

Destaining of gel bands: The protein bands of differentially expressed proteins were cut out from the gel and put in low binding microfuge tubes. 150 μl of 50:50 Acetonitrile:Ammonium bi carbonate pH 8.0 (NH4HCO3) was then added and kept under shaking for 30 min. Coloured liquid was discarded and the washing step repeated until the bands decolourised